Hi all Sunday my Historical Society was performing a dig to locate an old gunbarrel shop in my town and discovered a Railroad crossing sign I have never seen before. it is 18" in diameter ,White background,Black lettering. Pretty basic at thyis point but here's the twist the lines are for the crossing run top to bottom and side to side with the letters R and R in the top 2 quarters. I am assuming it is from the 1800's when rail service came to our town but was curious as to what years such a sign was used. Thanks Paul

Hi:

How about a photo?

Thanks!

Is your sign painted sheet-metal or cast iron? When did crossing signs come into use? Were they needed prior to widespread use of the automobile (early 1900's)? It seems that each road/state/locality may have had their own version of a sign until some national compact standardized the 'format' of signage--the current round, yellow 'crossing ahead' sign evolving from your sign and better mimicking the crossbucks to be found further down the road.

sc 'doc' lewis

something like this?

Yes dinwitty that's the sign!

I don't think there was a hard line standard in the earlier days of crossing signs, its been an evolving process. Standards varied from railroad to railroad and state state, county by county. I wouldnt doubt there are still such signs still up in use.
I would guessdate it for 50's 60's tho, I had been websearching trying to find any defintive dating on sign standards, nada yet, but I would certainly place it on the classic design list and use it on a steam era model railroad.

On a website by Dr. H. Gene Hawkins, Jr,

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/MUTCD-History.htm

the history of highway signage is available. It would appear that initial efforts were made in 1927 to standardize signage nationally. Your sign W-1 is described on page 21 of the 1927 publication and depicted on plate XXVI (just prior to page 23). Interesting to note is the effort to have a sign (W-2) that showed multiple tracks.

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/MUTCD-History_files/1927%20AASHO/1927_AASHO_Rural_Sign_Manual.pdf

In 1929 and 1931 there were some revisions to the AASHO publication but the scans do not show any examples of either W-1 nor W-2.

1935 saw the publication of the MUTCD which became the national standard. and the sign for a railroad crossing (on page 125 and still designated as W-1) is now the more familiar design we see today (though without reflectors). Rules for design, placement, maintaining, etc. are found on pages 18, 32, 37, 50, and 98 of the same publication.

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/MUTCD-History_files/1935%20MUTCD.pdf

On the MUTCD website it is noted that the first STOP sign appeared in Detroit. It would seem that your sign would post-date 1915 and pre-date 1935.

Hope this helps.

sc 'doc' lewis

PS Adobe Reader is required to view the .pdf files noted above

Date your sign? Sorry, I'm already married. <:-D

already married to the stop sign? No red light for you!!

I have one of those signs. It is stamped sheet steel, 24" in diameter.

Yep that's the sign although your's is in much better shape than mine is lol. I have also found a 1907 photo with the glimpse of the sign on the telephone pole at the crossing! I am giving it to a friend to run through her photo-shop program to pull it out better

A seller on eBay currently has a cast iron version with a little history paralleling what I mentioned above (they indicate circa 1920)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-RAILROAD-STOP-SIGN-LG-CAST-IRON-CIRC-1920S-/250706580027?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5f46d23b

Disclaimer: I neither know the seller nor have any financial interest in the above auction.

Note: As with all eBay auction pages, their life (accessibility) on the internet is finite and the above link will cease to function at the end of its life.

sc 'doc' lewis